Less Than Three
by Satanira
Summary: Finally has a title. Written as a present for Desi Maxwell. AU, rated for shonenai, language, violence.
1. Chapter 1

_This thing needs a title._

* * *

Wufei was a lover of books, not that you could tell by looking at him. The majority of his classmates would be shocked beyond words to discover the slim martial artist knew _how_ to read, much less that he enjoyed it. And even if they managed to accept his literacy, they would never be able to swallow the kinds of books he preferred.

Fantasy, mostly, of the hard-work-pays-off, evil-sometimes-wins, magic-isn't-always-the-answer, sometimes-heroes-die variety, and thrillers. Not your average thrillers, either; not slicer novels, with graphic descriptions of the dead, dying, tortured, and maimed on every other page, nor pointless, plotless drivel written by someone with no imagination and an eighth grade vocabulary. No, Wufei's page-turners of choice were psychological in nature, Dean Koontz and Michael Palmer, where the heroes weren't heroes at all, the true villain remained a mystery through to the end, and the plot was intricate enough to keep even a boy of his discipline and self-control enthralled into the quietest hours of the night.

But very few of Wufei's peers knew this side of him even existed. All they would ever see was the stoic, stand-offish fighter, the aloof, pragmatic, self-sufficient survivor. They were content to remain ignorant of the sensitive, introspective scholar residing at peace with the warrior they _did_ know.

Duo, on the other hand, was a true fan of music. He much preferred to hear a story than to read it himself. Anything sung had power to him, from traditional Irish ballads to heavy metal to Native American war songs. He believed the spoken word was Power, and he lived that philosophy to the fullest, never lying, always speaking his mind, and never hesitating to disagree with or call out a liar.

Duo was always in trouble with authority, and by the age of 16, he had twice spent the night in jail. He was constantly involved in fistfights, verbal altercations, and quite a few standoffs with the police.

Despite his record, however, Duo was a kind boy, with a giving heart and a pure soul. He just always seemed to wind up on the wrong side of an argument, more often than not. No matter how he joked about it, there was no escaping the fact that he genuinely wanted to help others; he was one of the good guys, arguments to the contrary notwithstanding. It was obvious, if you knew what to look for underneath the tough punk-rocker he showed to the world at large. Not all the tough talk and leather in the world can hide a heart that big.

Anyone will tell you that opposites attract- sadist to masochist, optimist to pessimist, loud to shy, the list goes on and on. Yet when polar opposites come together in real life, no one can believe it….

* * *

Duo Maxwell, his knee-length chestnut hair slowly but surely working its way loose from its customary braid, violet eyes burning in his deceptively childlike face, crouched with his back to the rough stone of the alley wall, eying the three thugs between him and the open street.

"You always were a coward." He commented with a cheerful smile. "Get your ass kicked by a kid, and you bring two goons with you to pay him back for the insult. How you lived to get as old as you are is a mystery to me."

The middle thug growled deep in his throat, his less-than-handsome face twisting grotesquely.

"I mean, seriously, Kev, how many idiots does it take to kick a skinny kid like me around for an hour or two?" Duo continued, subtly tensing in anticipation of an attack. "I thought your back-up was stronger than that. Besides, you've got at least a foot and 50 pounds on me; are you really so weak you need help to take me down?"

The taunting did its trick, and Kev lunged for Duo, streetlight glinting off the narrow blade in his fist.

Duo dodged easily, slipping to the side and smothering a laugh as Kev's momentum carried him headlong into the wall. The small teen took advantage of the distraction to dart between the two goons. Out of the alley, left down the street, the first right, and two blocks straight would take him into Wing territory, and even Kev wasn't stupid enough to follow him there.

He made the street and crossed it, the muscle only a step or two behind him. Being smaller and more agile than his pursuers, Duo kept and widened his lead, glancing back as he rounded the corner, just in time to see Kev stumble out of the alley looking uglier than usual, death in his eyes. Duo flipped him off.

He shouldn't have been surprised when Kev's thugs sent up the call of 'thief!', or when the concerned citizens responded. This was actually one of the better parts of town; Duo normally avoided it, but Kev and his goons had given him no choice.

He dodged a portly shopkeeper with a broom and skidded around a startled young woman pushing a baby carriage, tossing her a grin. One block to go. Half a block.

Still dodging pedestrians, Duo let loose a triumphant shout as he shot out into the street dividing this area from the one claimed by the Wings.

His elation was short-lived, however; a hand closed on the collar of his jacket and yanked him back onto the sidewalk, shoving him against the rough wall of an old apartment building.

"Not so fast, thief." His manhandler turned out to be a handsome guy in a business suit with real, honest-to-Gods ginger hair. Not red; ginger. More orange than any other color, really-

_No time for that!_ Duo told himself sternly, shaking his head to clear it. "I'm not a thief." He said out loud.

"Oh, really?" The businessman countered, not convinced by any stretch of the imagination.

"Can't believe everything you hear. Just 'cause I'm not rich doesn't mean I feel the need to rip anybody off."

"Okay then, _alleged_ thief," The man said as Kev arrived on the scene, goons in tow. "Why would this man accuse you of being a thief?"

"Because he wants to kill me for kicking his ass a few weeks ago." Duo explained, shrugging. "Search me; the only valuable on me are a pocket knife and a cross, and they're both worth more to me than the most generous pawnbroker in town." It was true, too; his cross was lead and plain gold plate, and the knife was wood and steel with no decorations to speak of.

"You lying little bastard!" Kev yelled, starting for him again.

"Hey!" Duo exclaimed indignantly. "You have no proof that my parents weren't married! And I never lie!"

"Come now, everyone lies." The ginger-haired man interrupted, holding up a hand to stop Kev from going for Duo.

"Not me." Duo disagreed. "Go ahead; ask me anything. I'll answer truthfully."

"What's your name?"

"People call me Duo Maxwell."

"How old are you?"

"16 years, 3 months, and 6 days, if you go by my current birthday."

"Have you _ever_ stolen?"

"Yes."

"From whom?"

"Couldn't tell ya." Duo confessed with a shrug. "I didn't know them."

"And what's to keep us from turning you over to the police?" The businessman asked, and Duo got the feeling he was enjoying this.

"It would be a waste of time; insufficient evidence." Duo explained a bit smugly. "You don't know who I stole from, what I stole, or when I stole it. Even I'm not sure of most of them. And it was all petty larceny anyway; all's I'd get was community service, and I do that already. If anyone should get arrested here, it's the dumbass who's been chasing me all over the city with a knife.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have homework to do for school tomorrow." That said, he darted around the strange man and across the street to safety.

He made it a whole block before breaking down in a laughing fit.

* * *

"Wufei. Morning."

Chang Wufei came completely awake in an instant at the sound of his housemate's voice. After several months in the two-bedroom apartment, he was used to the gruff morning wake-up. Heero wasn't one to waste words.

The apartment's third tenant, however….

"Is he awake yet, Heero? You guys are running late, so you'd better hurry a bit today!" A cheerful voice called from the direction of the kitchen, carried on the scent of bacon and French toast. "Breakfast is almost done, so hop to it, or there'll be nothing but stale bread crusts and warm water for you!"

It was a hollow threat, of course; Quatre didn't have the heart to deny someone anything he could give them. Still, Wufei moved faster than usual in his preparations, and arrived at the table in plenty of time to properly enjoy a meal with his 'family.'

Quatre was perhaps the most feminine man Wufei had ever seen, not that he was the least bit effeminate. He just looked like a girl; he didn't act like one. He had sun-bleached blond hair that hung in a charming fringe around the kindly face of an angel and large eyes of a strange aqua color. He smiled openly and often, in direct contrast with his roommate and lover, Heero.

Heero was stoic and a born lone wolf, usually expressionless, though he was far from emotionless. His dark brown hair was always messy and forever falling into his suspicious Prussian blue eyes. He spoke little, smiled less, and never laughed in public.

Quatre was a stay-at-home boyfriend, spending the majority of his time cooking, cleaning, and painting. Heero ran a successful electronics company specializing in security and tracking equipment. He also headed a taskforce known as the Wings, which offered protection and the promise of a future to runaways and street children.

Wufei liked living with them, although he would never admit it right to their faces.

"No lingering, you." Quatre admonished sternly, trying to look threatening and failing miserably. "You've got to get to school, and the last thing I need is that miserable vice-principal calling me with more snide remarks about my sexual orientation." The blond's smile turned slightly bitter, and Wufei was gripped by the sudden urge to murder his vice-principal. For some reason, anyone who insulted or hurt Quatre was awarded a place of honor at the very top of Wufei's shitlist. It made him _that_ angry.

"If he does, I'm reporting him." Wufei promised, standing. "Thank you for the meal; I'll see you this afternoon." He grabbed his bag and headed for the door, effectively putting an end to the conversation.

* * *

Duo woke up the same way he always did- grumpy. He was never what you'd call a morning person, and his late night with his math book didn't help much.

As usual, his alarm clock was the sound of screaming kids, yelling adults, arguing teenagers, and loud music. In the House, no one needed a clock to wake up on time.

The House was a testament to the basic goodness of mankind, founded and maintained by one Relena Peacecraft, and the only home Duo had ever known.

Relena was one of those heiresses who had tons of money, but didn't want luxury. She'd founded the House right where she lived, converting the four-story private residence into an unofficial runaway shelter/orphanage. A warm, safe haven from the streets, with the virtually endless Peacecraft fortune behind it. There were beds, food, shelter, and support available, if you were willing to stay clean, go to school, and follow the House rules. Shiftless street kids went in the House, but productive, contributing members of society went out.

With his usual questionable morning charm, Duo managed to punch, kick, or hit half a dozen other teenage boys before he made it to the hallway. It was ten to a room right now, and Duo's roommates were learning again exactly how mean he could be before his first pot of coffee.

He muttered a surly greeting best left unwritten at a group of cheerful older girls as he stumbled into the Japanese-style communal boys' bathroom. So far, this morning sucked.

* * *

As per his morning routine, Wufei arrived exactly 35 minutes before first bell and went straight to the library, where he exchanged his finished book for a new one. From there, he went to his locker, then to his first class with 20 minutes to spare.

As always, he was the first one there, aside from the teacher, and spent ten minutes in serious discussion with the instructor before his classmates began to arrive, and he retreated to his corner, pulling out his history textbook and notebook as less enthusiastic students stumbled to their seats.

* * *

With a pot of coffee inside him and his near-famous cheer restored, Duo jogged easily down his usual route to school. He could have taken the bus, but the bus wouldn't have let him stop at Beki's.

Beki was a student at the nearby university, a 20-year-old freshman by virtue of two failed years in high school. She was enthusiastic, pushy, and loud, with the attention span of a very small child and a memory like Swiss cheese. Since meeting her two years ago, Duo had made it a habit to drop by on his way to school and make sure she was awake and dressed. And not wrapped up in a book or movie or IM conversation, and especially to make sure she wasn't writing.

Beki's apartment was actually a rented room with an outside entrance via a modified fire escape on the third floor of some fancy house, and the inhabitants were used to Duo rushing up the outdoor staircase and banging on Beki's door before immediately letting himself in, so he paid no attention to the amount of noise he was making.

He found the door unlocked and went in with a sigh; now he'd have to sit her down and explain the importance of locking your door at night again.

"Hey, Beki, you awake yet?" He called into the gloom, tugging open the heavy black curtains on the room's single window.

"Oh, hey Duo." A rumpled blond head poked itself out of the private bathroom and smiled at him, blinking owlishly around the absence of her glasses. "When did you get here?"

"You left your door open again."

"Did I, really?" She asked without much interest, popping out of sight only to pop back again, running a hairbrush through her hair. "I could have sworn I checked it before I went to bed last night. Then again, I actually went to bed at about 3 this morning; I got shanghaied again."

"Well, hurry up and get ready, before we're both late." Duo ordered, shooing her off in the direction of the bookcase that served as her dresser. "I'll get your books together."

"Thanks bunches, Duo, you're a real pal!" She exclaimed cheerfully, already riffling through piles of identical jeans and functional t-shirts in search of something she hadn't worn yet that week. "I'd loose my head if you weren't around to make sure it was screwed on all the way!"

Duo ignored the obvious opening for some really good teasing in favor of getting Beki's things together for her.

* * *

"I'm so sorry I'm late!"

The wailed apology, accompanied by the sound of the classroom door opening and slamming shut, called Wufei's attention away from the interesting subject of ancient Mesopotamian civilization with an annoyed glare.

The instigator of the disturbance was one of the poorer students, a small boy with very long brown hair and violet eyes called Duo Maxwell. It was common knowledge that he hadn't been born with that name, but it was also common knowledge that even he didn't know his real name.

"What was it this time, Mr. Maxwell?" The teacher asked with a resigned sigh, pulling out the attendance sheet and picking up his pen.

"She got shanghaied." Duo explained with a grin. "Up till 3. Even forgot to lock her door."

"I don't know what she'd do without you, Mr. Maxwell. Take your seat."

Whoever 'she' was, the teacher seemed to accept the excuse and write it off as unavoidable. The mysterious woman who had delayed Duo was probably a friend or child of a friend of the teacher.

"Yes, sir!" Duo exclaimed with a mock salute before taking the only empty seat in the classroom; right next to Wufei. "Hey, I don't think I know you." He said, smiling winningly at Wufei, who did his best to ignore him as the lesson started up again. "And here I thought I knew everybody. I probably know _of_ you, even if we've never met…. That outfit is bound to stand out in a place like this…. No, don't tell me, I'll get it in a second…."

Wufei merely sighed, trying to zone out the babbling and concentrate on his work, which was becoming increasingly difficult.

"Hmm… Last name first, right? That would mean you're from the far East, right? Anyway, last name first…. Last name first… Chang…. Chang something…. Chang Wufei! Is that right, did I get it?"

"Can you possibly shut up for five seconds in a row?" Wufei demanded, perhaps more angrily than he'd intended, for Duo shrank back slightly for a moment.

"Sure I can, but that's no fun. I like talking. My pseudo-shrink says I suffer from 'fear of silence,' whatever that is."

"I can see that." Wufei muttered under his breath as the teacher stood up.

"Okay, boys and girls, time for partner assignments on your independent study projects!" He announced, giving rise to a chorus of complains and groans. "Now, to avoid accusations of favoritism or unfairness, people in the even rows will all be paired with the person directly to your left. Everyone's here today, so no complaining, got it?"

Deaf to the scrambling for better partners that erupted at the news, Wufei could only stare to his left. This couldn't possibly be happening to him….

* * *

"Looks like it's you and me, buddy!" Duo said cheerfully, smiling his best smile at the guy he'd be working with almost nonstop for the rest of the grading period. "I'm going to assume from the look on your face that you know who I am and have had ample time to memorize every gruesome detail of my reputation. I assure you, most of the bad shit is lies. I'm straight now, in one sense of speaking."

He paused as the expression on Wufei's face changed slightly, and he wondered if maybe he'd gone a little far there. After all, not every guy would feel comfortable working with a homo day in and day out.

"Look, forget what you've heard, because it really is mostly lies." He said finally. "Teach expects us to work together, and work together we shall, because he controls our grades, okay?"

After a long, tense moment, Wufei finally nodded once, and Duo heaved a sigh of relief.

"Good; I don't like being hated very much."

* * *

Wufei stumbled into the apartment at nearly 8:00 that night, thoroughly exhausted. He'd never known research to be so tiring, but working with Duo Maxwell seemed to make it an entirely new experience.

"Oh, good, Wufei, you're home!" Quatre said, smiling, and Wufei couldn't help but contrast Quatre's gentle cheer with Duo's more exuberant glee. "I have to run to the store real quick; dinner's keeping warm in the oven. Heero's staying at the office overnight, so you can have as much as you like, okay?"

"Thank you, I will." Wufei said, stepping into the living room just as the front door closed behind Quatre.

It wasn't unusual for Heero to stay late at work. He'd once stayed on call for nearly a week, probably not eating or sleeping the entire time, while he played base commander in the search for a group of missing kids. The man was dedicated to his work, Wufei had to give him that.

And with Heero gone, that meant Wufei got the rest of whatever Quatre had made for dinner, a boon he would desperately need if tomorrow were anything like that afternoon.

* * *

"Relena, my lovely hostess, you look dead on your feet." Duo greeted the House founder, planting a friendly kiss on each cheek. "Haven't you been sleeping lately? Don't make me put sleeping pills in your dinner again."

"Duo, listening to you threaten so sincerely is enough to make up for a sleepless night any day." Relena sighed, smiling. "Could I perhaps convince you to do something for me?"

"I'm yours to command." Duo said, grinning. "Can't guarantee I'll _obey_ any commands you give, but it never hurts to ask, right?"

"I have a package I need delivered, and it absolutely cannot wait until tomorrow. I realize it's late, and you probably have things you need to do, but there simply isn't anyone quite as reliable as you here right now."

"Well, if that's all, all I ask is that you get someone to take this stuff up to my room for me." Duo replied. "Field trip! Where'm I going?"

"Wing headquarters. Make sure Mr. Yuy gets this."

"Will do!" A long career as Relena's sometimes-errand boy meant he knew exactly where he was going, and who he was supposed to give the package to, making further instructions redundant. "See ya in a few!"

* * *

_Umm… Does anyone else find this as corny as I do?_

_This story is being written as a present for my all-time favorite Gundam Wing RP partner, Desi Maxwell. Desi rocks! I just hope she likes the story…_


	2. Chapter 2

To Kira May Maxwell- Thanks; I needed that. I reread it at nearly midnight, and it struck me as appallingly corny, but I kept myself from deleting it and starting over. I won't give up, and I really hope Desi likes it, too. Yes, Heero and Quatre are a couple, and yes, Duo and Wufei will be one eventually.

To Jadah Krayne- I'm glad you read this fic, too; makes me feel loved. Although I wouldn't exactly call it exceptional. You want exceptional, you read Michael Palmer or Dean Koontz. I'm just okay. Yes, yes, the main pairing will eventually be 2x5x2. (revives) I'm flattered that I'm on your alert list, and I'll try very hard to keep this fic going at a reasonable pace and quality. Also, thank you for the numerous reviews you left on my completed stories; it's nice to know people like them, too.

To Vwolf Youjitsu- Interesting name; I'll get cracking on the next chapter.

To Onigami Nanashi- You have no idea how much I love your name. I'm glad you like it, but I hope you're not offended that Desi's opinion is very important to me, since it was written specifically for her. I hope the name comes; I hate having untitled stories. It's gonna focus on the lives of the boys, with some romance and stuff thrown in for good measure, if that's what you're asking. Trowa's around; he just hasn't been introduced yet. Yes, you've got the pairings right, and I have a pairing in mind for Trowa, too, although you might not like it very much…. How do you feel about Relena?

To RavynOwl- Erm... I'm glad you like it...

To Desi- Desi, you made it! I'm so glad you like it so far! Don't worry; Duo and Wufei will eventually talk to each other. Right now, though, they're just getting on each other's nerves.

* * *

Duo strolled casually into Wing HQ, which was actually the main building of Zero Electronics, whistling. He waved at one of the guards, who knew him by name, and walked to the front desk. The secretary was new, and looking at him disapprovingly, although her expression grew slightly envious when she spotted his braid.

"Package for Mr. Yuy." He said, hefting said parcel and grinning.

"I'll make sure he gets it." She said crisply, holding out her hand.

"Nothing doing, babe." He disagreed, pulling the box out of her reach. "I'm under strict orders to give this directly to Mr. Yuy." She frowned angrily and opened her mouth to argue, but he plowed right over her. "Look, you're probably new here, so I'll lay it out for you. This package was entrusted to me by one Miss Relena Peacecraft, to be delivered to Mr. Yuy and no one else. If I left this with you, they'd both kill me. We've been doing this for more than a year now, and letting me go up won't get you in trouble."

"I think I'll place a call to Mr. Yuy's office first, if you don't mind." The secretary said haughtily, and Duo sighed.

"Fine; have it your way."

She picked up the phone and did the secretary thing, then sat for a minute or so, making sounds into the handset, before hanging up and smiling smugly.

"Mr. Yuy doesn't wish to be disturbed right now; he's in the middle of some very important work."

Duo inhaled, intent on saying something, but someone else beat him to it.

"Duo, what are you doing here?" Quatre Winner in all his blond glory stepped up to the desk, slightly out of breath and smiling bright enough to light the entire city for at least a week. "Oh, another package? Heero's probably waiting for that; you should take it up."

"I would, Mr. Winner, but me and the lady here are disagreeing on that point." Duo said. It was his turn to smile smugly before continuing. "I didn't want her calling security on me; I might have gotten one of the guys that don't like me."

"You'll have to forgive Annette, Duo." Quatre said, still smiling. "She's only been working here a week. Annette, Duo and I are going up, okay? Please don't warn Heero; I want to surprise him."

"Of course, Mr. Winner." Annette's face was swiftly assuming the expression of someone in the throes of intense constipation, and Duo almost felt sorry for her.

* * *

As soon as the reached the elevator, Quatre sighed again, and his smile turned apologetic.

"Don't think too badly of Annette, Duo; she's only just out of school, and she's not used to the idea of exceptions to the rules."

"No problem, man." Duo said distractedly, trying somewhat successfully to balance the package on his head during the long ride to the tenth floor. "Thanks for getting me up, though; I've got me an independent study partner to rest up for, and I'm gonna need my beauty sleep to deal with this guy."

"That bad, huh?" Quatre asked as the arrived safely on the right floor and stepped into the wide, plushly carpeted hallway.

"Not bad, precisely, just…. Hard to deal with. Can't take the least bit of teasing. Doesn't like nicknames, either."

"It'll be a refreshing change, then." Quatre said, pushing open the door to Heero's outer office. "No, don't ring us in, Lucrezia." He told Heero's dark-haired main secretary. "This is a surprise visit."

"Your funeral." Lucrezia said, smiling. "It's unlocked, but don't be shocked if he shoots you before you can say the password."

"Thanks for the warning." Quatre said, managing to sound genuinely grateful and mockingly gleeful at the same time.

Contrary to the dire prediction, when Quatre opened the door to the inner office and stepped inside, there was no attack, save an absentminded kiss during which Duo looked politely away.

"Since you're staying overnight, I figured I'd better come make sure you ate something." Quatre was saying as Duo cautiously inched into the room. "Made your favorite tonight, too; beef stew and dumplings. And I'm not leaving until you finish it."

"Y'know, Mr. Winner, I don't think that's the right kind of incentive to use here." Duo spoke up, effectively calling attention to the fact that they weren't alone. "In fact, if I were Mr. Yuy, I'd refuse to eat at all under the circumstance."

"Which is why I'm me, and you're not." Heero said in his usual deadpan monotone. "I assume that package is for me?"

"Right you are, Mr. Yuy!" Duo said cheerfully, handing his burden over with an extravagant bow. "I don't suppose you're finally gonna tell me what's in these things?"

"No."

"Man, you're a drag! Not even a little hint? Is it love letters? Cake? If it's anything that's supposed to be edible, toss it. Relena can't cook."

"You can leave now, Duo." Heero said calmly, taking both Relena's package and the bag containing his dinner to his desk.

"Okay, okay, okay! I know when I'm not wanted. I'll just go home and cry myself to sleep; not like I have anything to look forward to tomorrow, except study sessions with 'Fei." He sniffed theatrically and slouched to the door, casting a melancholy glance over his shoulder before sighing dramatically and closing the door.

Seeing that Lucrezia was watching him, he kept it up, moping his way to the hallway, then collapsing against the doorjamb.

"I… I can't go on… I just feel so… so… so _empty_!" He exclaimed, startling some poor intern half to death. With a despairing cry, he turned and flung himself at Lucrezia. "Comfort me, Luce! I've never needed you more!"

Lucrezia neatly sidestepped his attack, and the crash when he hit the floor was spectacular.

* * *

Quatre listened to the fading banter of Lucrezia and Duo with a smile.

"Those two never quit, do they?" He asked with a wistful sigh, hoisting himself up on the edge of Heero's desk. "Ah, to be young again."

"You know for a fact Lucrezia Noin is nearly old enough to be your mother." Heero countered, already hard at work again, although he was dutifully eating with one hand.

"True, true." Quatre agreed, his smile fading. "I got another call from the school today."

That simple statement stilled Heero's hands like not even a nuclear explosion could.

"And?" The dark-haired man prompted.

"The vice-principal. He… he threatened to take Wufei away from us. Said we were unfit to care for a child." Quatre, who had never believed the saying that real men don't cry, felt tears welling up in his eyes. "He told me he could convince the school board the living with us was having an adverse affect on Wufei, and that he'd be gone before the week was out!" Unable to say anything further, the blond buried his face in his hands. Wufei was a son to him, and the mere thought of loosing the stern Chinese teen was horrifying.

"He won't." Heero said decisively, standing and placing an arm around Quatre's shoulders. "I'll see to it." With uncharacteristic tenderness, he pulled Quatre into a gentle hug and held him until he'd cried his fill. When Quatre's sobs had dwindled to silence, he spoke again. "Let's go home; Wufei needs to know about this."

* * *

Another morning, another surly Duo reestablishing his view on any time of day before a considerable amount of coffee.

His nectar of the Gods was long in coming, however, because the House was out and shopping would take hours. Rather than wait around, he trudged sullenly through the Saturday bustle to Beki's place. The heathen woman might not drink coffee herself, but there was usually some to be had anyway.

He reached the boarding house without any major mishap, although an unfortunate beer bottle had felt his wrath when he'd found it lying in the middle of the sidewalk just waiting to trip up an innocent kid. Her door was locked, thank goodness, and he let himself in with the spare she'd given him.

"Beki, I need fuel." He announced once inside, noting that the computer and stereo were on and she was up. "Now."

"Top of the bookcase, next to the Rivan Codex," Came the reply from somewhere in the mess of blankets on the bed. "Relena-lady called and said you were out."

"Bless you both." He sighed, stumbling across the room to the giant mug of sweet black sustenance. He downed most of it without pausing for breath, intent on becoming a real boy before he said another word. Hail to the Blue Fairy called caffeine.

"Feeling better?" Beki asked with a grin, wiggling her way into a sitting position without looking up from the book she was reading.

"Much. Say, have you ever given any thought to cleaning this place?"

"Now why would I go and do a silly thing like- okay, that's just wrong. Sick freak. At least as things are, I know where everything is."

"Where's your CD case?" He countered, used to the strange double-talk you got whenever Beki was reading.

"At least I know where all my _books_ are." She amended with a smile, still reading. "As if, you loser! I oughta bitchslap you into next Tuesday!"

"What the hell are you reading?" Duo demanded, picking his way among the stacks of books littering the floor to sit on the foot of the bed.

"From the Corner of His Eye," She answered, her anger gone as suddenly as it had manifested. "I really like this book. I'm just sad that the Pie Lady had to die."

"Speaking of reading…." He spoke up suggestively, casting around the room for a certain book. "If I recall correctly, Thursday we left Damia in the thrall of an unknown alien power. I wanna know what happens, woman!"

"Duo, you are the only fifteen-year-old I know who still insists on being read to." Beki sighed, reluctantly sticking a bookmark in her book and setting it aside before accepting Damia from his eager hands. She opened to the magazine subscription they were using for a bookmark and cleared her throat. "_Damia had just returned to Aurigae when she heard the Rowan giving the Tower official warning of the transmission of a personal capsule…_"

* * *

"He's late." Wufei stated irritably, glaring at the unoffending wall opposite him.

Duo Maxwell was, indeed, late. More than just a little late- nearly an hour had passed since the appointed meeting time, with no sign of him, and Wufei was getting angry. After last night's news, he did _not_ need this kind of aggravation.

He'd probably overslept, the twit. Although he was reluctant to do so, Wufei decided he'd just have to go to Duo's house and get him, or they'd never get any work done.

With a resigned sigh, he left the library steps, pulling the crumpled piece of notebook paper with Duo's address on it out of his bag.

* * *

Finding Duo turned out to be a lot harder than Wufei had anticipated. Just finding the place had been hard enough; probably because he hadn't expected to find Duo living in a four-story mansion. It also could have been because he was steamed and not paying close enough attention to the task at hand.

Whatever the reason, it took nearly half an hour to find it, and Duo wasn't even home. Thankfully, several people were able to give him directions to his probable current location, using landmarks instead of streets and numbers.

The walk to his new destination was relatively short, and took a little more than ten minutes. But he finally found the house.

_It's the one with brick walls and an outside staircase._ He told himself, mentally reaffirming the directions given him. _Go all the way up the outside staircase and knock. He should still be there, but if he's not, the person there can help you._

He mounted the worn metal steps silently, half afraid the whole thing was going to collapse under him, but made it to the top unscathed. A battered set of mismatching numbers on the door read _307_, the number he'd been told to look for, so he knocked.

"It's open!" A woman's voice called, indicating she had absolutely not intention of greeting him properly, so he eased the door carefully inward as the soft murmur of voices inside resumed.

"_'-Isthia, Afra, and myself,' Damia said coolly, rather delighted to see her phlegmatic brother moved to temper, 'you must admit, Jeran, that we would have experience in recognizing threat.'_" The thin woman sitting cross-legged on stacked mattresses in one corner of the large room was reading out loud from a paperback book in her lap. She flipped a small wave in his direction without pausing, although her rapt audience of one didn't even look up. "_'This species does not pose one. In fact, hostility is the furthest thing from their thoughts. Their worlds have suffered from Hive attacks. They urgently desired to know how we repelled the Leviathan.'_

_'As I was part of that assault, I explained how we contrived,' Afra went on conversationally. 'The Mrdinis were very impressed that we needed no recourse to armaments to destroy it.'"_

She was good at voices; Wufei had to give her that. He could clearly tell, although he'd never read this particular book, that Afra was male, and probably a very dignified male at that. She was also a compelling reader; normally, he'd be affronted at being ignored, but he was curious as to what was happening.

"_Jeran rolled his eyes, noting the distraught expression on the commander's face. 'That was even stupider, Afra. Giving _away_ information about our defense? That's the most horrendous breach of security that… that…' Words failed him._"

Abruptly, the woman stuck a piece of cardstock between the pages and snapped the book shut.

"And that's all you get." She said cheerfully, grinning as Duo protested. "We have a visitor, and I think he's here for you." She added before turning to look at Wufei. "Sorry about the wait, but I didn't want to just stop in any old place. Feel free to clear off a chair and have a seat. My name's Beki."

Wufei nodded once and introduced himself, looking around for a recognizable chair. Most every flat surface, including the floor, was covered with clutter. There was a pile of laundry in one corner, a wastebasket overflowing with crumpled wads of paper against one wall, and books everywhere. Hardcovers, paperbacks, manuscripts, even graphic novels were piled on the bookcase, the shelving units, the desk, the nightstand, the chairs, the floor, even a few balanced precariously on the windowsill. He moved a stack of reference books on forensic science off a wooden armchair and hesitated, not sure what to do with them.

"Oh, just put those on the floor over there, next to the box of paper." Beki said dismissively, waving one hand in the direction a large yellow box with _Premium Laser Paper_ emblazoned on the side. "Duo, pass me my soda. I feel as if I've been reading for hours!"

"You kind of have." Duo admitted guiltily, passing over a two liter bottle of Dr. Pepper and a small glass. "I was supposed to meet Wufei here at the library at 10, and you started reading at about 8:30. It looks to be about noon now."

"And why, pray tell, was she reading aloud to you?" Wufei asked as casually as his far-from-forgotten anger would let him. "I know for a fact you're not illiterate, Maxwell."

"Duo just likes hearing stories out loud." Beki shrugged, having downed half the bottle of soda in little more than a minute. "And he can't do voices or accents like me. Besides, I don't mind." She turned to face him without uncrossing her legs, and stared for a moment before looking sharply away.

"What?" Wufei demanded, frowning.

"Nothing. Didn't mean to stare, it's just…" She looked at him again and her eyes widened slightly. "So you're a firestarter?"

"_What?_"

"Oh, it's no use trying to pretend you don't know what she's talking about." Duo spoke up, grinning. "She figured me out a lot faster. Beki here's a living, breathing, Talent radar."

"I have no idea what you're babbling about." Wufei said adamantly, although he could tell neither believed him.

"Of course you do!" Beki countered, smiling again. "It took me a minute, because it's been so long since I last saw a firestarter, but I catch on quick. Here," She continued when he refused to respond, "watch this." She poured another cup of soda and set it on top of a copy of Voltaire's Bastards on the nightstand. With a slight frown, she stared hard at the cup.

For a while, nothing happened. Then the surface of the soda began to bulge, as if something were pushing it from beneath. Slowly, the dark liquid rose out of the glass, forming a shimmering orb in the air.

"Duo, bucket," Beki said distractedly, her attention focused on the task at hand, and Wufei watched in fascination as the sphere split into two, then four, then eight, all different sizes. Several drops no bigger than a dime formed as well, moving around each other in a strange ballet, until a miniature solar system of soda hovered in the air, circling in an approximation of planetary and lunar rotation.

As soon as Duo had a large plastic mop bucket under the display, it coalesced into a single orb again and fell with an impressive splash, although nothing escaped the bucket to harm any of the books nearby.

"That was… impressive." Wufei managed. "And what do you call that?"

"Water talent." Beki answered with a grin, and Wufei realized she was sweating and looked tired. "I can't do it often or for long, though; I'm only level 4. Duo here's a level 2 touchreader, and I'd gauge you at about level 2 or 3. Can you create, or only manipulate?"

"Create." He answered slowly. True, he'd been able to start and control fires most of his life, but he'd never shared that fact with a stranger, nor had he ever had his gift so neatly and efficiently categorized. It was an odd feeling.

"2, then; only levels 1 and 2 can create fires, even though we call them all firestarters." She said matter-of-factly.

"We?" Wufei repeated.

"We. The Talents. What, did you think you were the only one?"

* * *

_Sorry, sorry… Couldn't resist. After so much Dean Koontz, I couldn't help myself. At least I'm not doing another prophecy, right? I swear, once I finish Voices, I'm never touching prophecies again._

_Since I got this chapter out so quickly, can you please forgive me? Pretty please?_


	3. Chapter 3

To Jadah Krayne- Frankly, I didn't see it coming, either, although I've probably been subconsciously planning for it. I hate it when my mind keeps secrets from me. Still working on sticking Trowa in properly, but I'm getting there.

To Vwolf Youjitsu- Yeah, I like that book, too, except for what happens to poor Larak. The Mrdinis are adorable for the most part. Have you read any of the other books in the series? Twist endings are fun for the whole family, ne? I'll get on chapter 3 ASAP.

To KokushibyouOni- That's a… unique name. I'm glad so many people like the Talents; I was sure it was a bad idea, but apparently not! I… I got extra-special author points? Wow! As for touchreading, Wufei doesn't know what it is either, so I'll leave that explanation to Duo, okay?

To Kira May Maxwell- You won't forgive me? Oh, well. Pity party! I haven't been forgiven! I'm thrilled Desi liked it, too! As for them all meeting, the fun part is that Trowa, Duo, and Wufei all know Heero and Quatre, but none of them know that the others do. I've got a few ideas to rectify that situation, though. Fei ain't goin' nowhere. Dramatic irony; you know that, I know that, the Pope knows that – okay, the _Pope_ probably doesn't, but you get the picture – but they don't know that. And I could never give up now, not with such an overwhelming response to the first two chapters!

To Onigami Nanashi- Yeah, the bastards! Yes, that thing. As for Relena…. I thought that might be your reaction. But the story grabbed me by the throat, lifted me off the ground, and said in no uncertain terms that I was to pair Trowa and Relena. I'm trying to reason with it, but I'm not really getting anywhere.

* * *

"Interesting woman." Wufei commented when he and Duo hit the street some time later. "A good story-teller."

"Yup." Duo agreed, grinning. "She loves reading out loud. First time I heard her, she was testing out voices for a character in the library, and I bugged her until she agreed to tell me stories."

"Exactly how old are you?" Wufei demanded in exasperation, shaking his head. "No, don't answer that. Instead, tell me about your gift."

"My gift?" Duo repeated, waiting for Wufei's affirming nod before continuing. "Well, touchreading's kind of like a cross between empathy, hindsight, and mindreading. When I touch something, if there's a strong enough emotion attached to it, I can pick up on the emotion and any thoughts, memories, or images associated with that emotion. Thank God I was a late bloomer, because it took me years to learn how to shut it down, and it wasn't until I met Beki I really learned how to control it. You're lucky; you got what Beki calls a tool gift."

"Tool gift?"

"A gift that has to be invoked. Your training probably involved learning how to call fire and how to keep yourself from involuntarily calling it. Mine focused almost entirely on how to suppress my gift."

"How exactly did you meet Beki, if it's not prying to ask?"

"Now _that's_ a story for the ages!" Duo exclaimed, startling some poor old lady into nearly dropping her purse. "See, I was in the park – you know, the one with all the fruit trees – going for a walk after school, and I heard someone yelling, so I went to check it out. And there was Beki, so pissed she was crying, kicking some guy in the shin. She probably would've been punching him, too, except he had her hands. But anyway, his buddy stands not five feet away, reading something, laughing his ass off.

"Well, it was pretty obvious who needed rescuing, so I jumped in and saved the day. After the thugs ran off, she started scrambling after the papers, and I went to help her. And you know what went into that story? A week straight of no sleep, on the computer every free minute, subsisting on soda and string cheese. She made at least a dozen false starts before she hit it. But all that work caught up to her, and she collapsed and slept for two days. She overshot the deadline, and her teacher failed her because she didn't have a doctor's note to prove that she'd been sick. If you ever wind up at the local university, take my advice and steer clear of the creative writing course. That teacher delights in failing students, I'm sure of it!"

"That was unkind of him." Wufei agreed, sighing. "I have things I have to do, and we're obviously not going to get anything done today; I'm going home."

"Whatever, dude." Duo said grinning. "See you tomorrow, then?"

"Yes; tomorrow."

* * *

"Trowa, are you home?" Beki called, knocking loudly on the door to room 207 and waiting impatiently for an answer.

"What do you want?" A voice sighed, and the door opened on a very disgruntled Trowa Barton. "I'm running late."

"My, don't we look snazzy." Beki commented. "Office work, I take it?"

"Yes." Trowa answered, sounding testy to the blond. "Now, make this quick; I'm leaving in five minutes, whether you're done talking or not."

Beki stuck her tongue out as soon as Trowa's back was turned and flounced over to the neatly-made bed. Everything in Trowa's room was put away in a precise place and order; even his CDs were alphabetized. It made a scary contrast to her own room, right above his.

"I met a firestarter today." Of course, _now_ Trowa was paying attention, although the casual observer wouldn't be able to tell. "His name's Wufei, and he goes to Duo's school. I thought I'd fill you in before I forgot."

"Anything else? Think hard, Rebbekha." Trowa was the only person who called Beki by her full name, and it always annoyed her for some reason.

"Yeah- come clean my room. It's gotten to the point where I can't see the floor again."

"No way in hell. Your five minutes are up; out."

With a sigh, Beki did as she was told, pausing long enough to give Trowa a rib-crushing bear hug before scampering back upstairs, leaving him to go to his new job.

* * *

Quatre was pissed. Pissed was not a word one normally used to describe the blond Arabian, but it was the only suitable term now.

"Damn it all, what the hell do you have against me?" He demanded of the impassive speaker phone, wincing as his voice broke harshly into a sob. "What have I ever done to make you hate me like this?"

"I think you know, Mr. Winner." Vice Principal Dekim Barton answered coolly, not in the least disturbed by Quatre's outburst.

"Dammit, Wufei is my _son_! He might not have been born mine, but he is now, and if you think for one minute you can just waltz into our lives and steal him away, you're seriously mistaken!"

"Mr. Winner, I know it's the way of your kind to take offense easily, but this is too much. If you cared at all for the boy's welfare, you would agree that I am simply removing him from an unhealthy environment."

"How is his current environment unhealthy?" Quatre demanded, suddenly feeling very drained. "Has he complained about anything? Has his schoolwork been suffering? What possible reason could you have for thinking living with us is bad for Wufei?"

"This conversation is over, Mr. Winner." Without so much as a 'nice day,' Dekim hung up.

After a moment, Quatre severed his end of the connection, pillowed his head on his arms, and did the only thing he could do- cry.

* * *

_Grrr… I hate it when my chapters are so short! And I still don't have a title for this thing! I think I'm gonna cry…_


	4. Chapter 4

To Vwolf Youjutsu- Yup. Update. I own the Rowan, Damia, and Damia's Children, and I'm trying to convince my aunt to give me Lyon's Pride. I tried reading To Ride Pegasus, but I couldn't get into it. But don't let me get started on books, or I'll type for a page and a half.

To Nikkler- Okay! I won't cry! And thanks for the tissues. The Gift, huh? That's actually a pretty good suggestion…. I'll think about it. Thanks. Yesh, Dekim needs to die, slowly and painfully. Very slowly, and _very_ painfully.

* * *

A ping akin to the sound of submarine sonar went off to Beki's left, and she turned automatically towards it. In the milling crowd on the sidewalk not two feet away, it was hard to pick out who had set off her Talent radar at first. Then her target obligingly stepped onto the café terrace, and she immediately fell in love.

Before her stood a slim, slightly tanned blond with large aqua eyes and the strongest empathy she'd ever felt, looking lost, confused, and a little sad.

"Hey, cutie, take a seat." She said before he could pass her, gesturing towards the empty chair across her small table. "I'll buy you a soda and you can tell me what's got you down."

He hesitated for a moment before smiling shyly and taking the proffered seat.

"Thank you. I'm in need of a sympathetic ear at the moment."

"One of my many jobs." She assured him with a grin. "The name's Beki. What's your poison?"

"Water should be fine, Beki." He said with another small smile. "I'm Quatre. Quatre Reberba Winner."

"Nice to meetcha, Mr. Winner. Oi, Bill! Refill my soda and get my lovely tablemate some water! Now, mind telling me what's got you so sad?"

"Just…. problems. I may be loosing my son because of my particular lifestyle." Quatre explained evasively.

"Look, Mr. Winner, you don't have to hide things from me. Whatever it is that's going on, it's not because you're a bad person. No one with empathy as strong as yours could do anything to harm someone else unless he was so twisted as to be completely insane, which you're obviously not."

"H-how did-"

"As a friend of mine is fond of putting it, I'm a 'living, breathing Talent radar.' You're a level 1 empath, beyond question, and if you were twisted enough to enjoy causing pain, your Talent would feed that back onto everybody within five miles. I know, because I met an empath like that once. It's an encounter I've been trying my best to forget."

"I see." Quatre fell silent, accepting his water from Bill the waiter with an absent nod. After a minute or so, he sighed. "Beki, what's your view on homosexuality?"

"I have no problem with it." She said, shrugging. "You can't help who you love, so why bother trying? If you want to play bedroom games with another guy, that's nobody's business but yours. Why, is some homophobe jackass trying to steal your kid?"

"Something like that. He's actually the son of a friend who passed away last year. He's only been living with us eight or nine months, but it still _feels_ like we're a family."

"In that case, Mr. Winner, to hell with that jerk. If you ever find yourself in a tight spot, call on me. My friend's uncle's probably the best lawyer on the continent, and he's got a soft spot for cases like yours. Here's my number and e-mail, okay?" She tore a piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbled both bits of contact info on it before handing it to him. "Just think positive, and maybe it'll all solve itself."

* * *

It didn't take an empath to figure out that Wufei was pissed.

Actually, scratch that; he was _beyond_ pissed. Maybe if he killed a few people, he would calm down enough to qualify as pissed, and Duo idly wondered if his study partner might pick him as a target of his rage.

"'Fei, if you don't want to do this, we can call it a day." Duo said finally, closing the heavy book in front of him. "We're ahead of schedule anyway, and I'm surprised you can concentrate at all, with the way you're acting."

"No." Wufei said shortly. "I can't go home, so I might as well work."

"Okay, okay, I get the message…." Duo grumbled, feeling hurt. He reached across the library table, snagged one of the reference books scattered across the hardwood surface, and immediately dropped it.

* * *

"'Fei, you _seriously_ need to curb your emotion." Duo said slowly, shaking his head in an effort to clear the lights dancing in front of his eyes. "You just totally demolished my shields like they didn't even exist!"

"What are you babbling about?"

"Umm… my Talent? Touchreading? Remember it? You just told me a whole hell of a lot more about yourself than I _ever_ wanted to know, including some seriously painful plans for the vice principal, through shields that are supposed to be impenetrable. Either curb your emotion or go home."

"I can't go home, Maxwell," Wufei snapped angrily, slamming his book shut. "I live with an empath, and the last thing he needs right now is me."

"Okay, then, do whatever. I need to go see Beki about getting my shields replaced, or I'm gonna start picking up intimate secrets every time I touch somebody's jacket. You can come if you want, just make sure you don't touch me."

* * *

The entire walk from the library to Beki's, Wufei tried to think of a way to apologize that wouldn't come off either pompous or idiotic, and that didn't actually involve the words 'I'm sorry.' He didn't do things he regretted for the most part, so apologizing was obviously not his forte. By the time they'd climbed the rickety metal staircase outside Beki's room, the only thing he'd been able to think of was a wildly inappropriate box of chocolates.

"Come in!" Beki called in response to Duo's knock, and the door opened on chaos.

Beki, hair pulled back and covered with a bandana, was busily stacking books in the middle of a large clear space on the floor. Most of the chairs had somehow become visible, the bed was made, and the large pile of laundry in the corner had disappeared.

"Don't mind the mess, come on in. Sit somewhere. Dammit, Trowa, Why do I have to separate the hardcovers and the paperbacks?"

"Because," The young man calmly placing books on the bookcase explained, "You'll be able to fit more on each shelf that way. It's also more organized."

"You're obsessed with organization!" Beki accused sullenly. "Why are you even here?"

"You're paying me. Hand me the other stack of Anne McCaffery paperbacks, please."

"I hate you."

"What's going on here?" Duo asked, bewildered.

"We're cleaning my room." Beki said. "I'm hyper, and I need to burn off the excess energy. Sit. And never drink grape soda; it'll make you insanely hyper. They put way too much sugar in it, I swear."

"Yet you still drink it." Trowa interrupted. "Duo, what happened to your shields?"

"'Fei trashed 'em. By the way…. Trowa, Wufei the firestarter. Wufei, Trowa the farseer and shield-maker extraordinaire."

Trowa rolled his eyes, put the last book in its place, and stood up. His hair fell over half his face, obscuring one eye and giving him a slightly mysterious look.

"Break time, Rebbekha; we're going down to my room."

* * *

"You look happy." Heero commented, dropping his briefcase on the table and planting a small kiss on Quatre's cheek.

"I received reassurance." Quatre explained, smiling. "From a complete stranger, too."

"Really." Heero prompted, sitting down and digging into the bowl of stew Quatre placed in front of him.

"Really. She could sense that I'm an empath, and assured me that as such, I couldn't consciously do anything to harm Wufei, and probably nothing _un_consciously, either. It made my day."

"Not that I'm not glad to see you happy, but do you think it's wise to tell complete strangers about yourself?" Heero asked with a sigh and a slight smile.

"She was no danger to me." Quatre assured his lover with a tolerant smile of his own. "She's as innocent and open as…. as Duo."

"Who, despite the fact that he tells only the unvarnished truth, is one of the most devious and world-wise creatures we know."

"Creatures?" Quatre repeated, wondering if he should be offended on Duo's behalf.

"The cat's slightly more devious. Lucrezia sends her love, and wants you to check out the new night secretary in the front lobby."

"Sacked Annette, did you?" Quatre asked, sighing. "I really was hoping you could keep her around; she'd be good for you."

"She wasn't flexible enough to work with us." Heero countered, shaking his head. "She plays strictly by the rule book, no exceptions allowed, and I couldn't see that changing in a reasonable length of time. We can't afford someone as rigid as her on staff."

"Is something brewing I should know about?" Quatre asked, suddenly very serious.

"Maybe. You know Khushrenada's niece, the foreseer? She's getting glimpses of something big. The only details she can get so far are that it involves Talents, a water Talent and a fire Talent specifically, and that it's not going to be good."

"Yikes."

"So watch which strangers you talk to from now on; we need to be alert to threats. Dorothy's the best foreseer on the continent, and when she says it'll happen, it'll happen."

* * *

_Whee._


	5. Chapter 5

To Nikkler- I haven't decided if I want Meiran in the story or not. I tend to avoid adding her because the only material I have involving her is in Episode Zero, which really isn't enough for me to firmly grasp her personality, and I don't want to misrepresent her. I'm glad you like Beki, though; she's something of a self-insert, and I'm fighting hard to make her realistic.

To Vwolf Youjutsu- Sorry it took so long! My creative energy was being stifled there, but now I have my own room! Yay! Except my monitor broke. Not so yay. Anyway, Lyon's Pride was awesome; I definitely recommend it. Bye!

To FantasyChick- Whose books? No, it's not; I have no idea who you're talking about there. Sorry. Anywho, glad you like the story!

* * *

"Yes!" Duo exclaimed. "I have shields again! You have no idea what crosses the minds of the dirty little people who inhabit this city."

"I'm sure I do." Beki disagreed, grinning. "Some of those dirty-minded little people often voice those nasty thoughts to me, and invite me to make them reality. Besides, I'm a writer- I make most of the stuff up myself."

"Good point."

"Think you guys have time to head back to the library, or do you wanna hang with me?" Beki asked, hauling herself off Trowa's bed.

"Do we have to help clean?" Duo all but whimpered in response.

"Nope; just talk to me. Trowa makes bad conversation while he's working. No offense, Tro."

"None taken," Trowa said smoothly. "However, I have work today, and I seriously doubt you'll be able to finish without me. You have a tendency to shove things in corners when you clean by yourself."

"Meanie." Beki accused, sticking out her tongue. "Fine; abandon me for the dull, dreary grind of office work. See if I care. Tell me where you work, and I'll bring you dinner."

"Hey!" Duo interrupted. "How come you never offer to bring _me_ dinner?"

"Because you insulted my cooking."

"Once!"

"Once is plenty."

* * *

Sometimes, Trowa really wondered about his choice of friends. He didn't bestow the title on many, but those he deemed worthy tended to be outcasts, rejects of society, or just plain odd. Rebbekha was more than odd- she was decidedly weird. Half the time, he couldn't tell if she was dead serious or joking with all her heart, and the other half, he was positive she was still ten years old. And Duo… well, there was no word known to man that could accurately describe _Duo_.

With a sigh, the brunette shook his head and tried to concentrate on his work. He didn't mind office work at all, and usually enjoyed it, but tonight, his thoughts just couldn't stay focused.

The outside lobby door opened, calling Trowa back to reality before he could hare off on another mental tangent. He looked up in time to see Mr. Winner, a close associate of Zero Electronics' founder and CEO.

"Good evening, Mr. Winner." Trowa said somewhat absently, standing to greet the blond.

"And you, Mr. Barton." Mr. Winner said, smiling warmly. "Is Mr. Yuy in right now? I'd like to talk to him if he is."

"He should be in his office; I'll check." Trowa buzzed Mr. Yuy's personal secretary, watching Mr. Winner without being obvious about it. He had the sneaking suspicion that both Winner and Yuy were Talents, and he wondered what it would take to get Rebbekha to drop by and check. "Lucrezia, is Mr. Yuy in? Mr. Winner would like to see him. Yes. Alright, I will. He stepped out for a bit, Mr. Winner. You can wait in his office if you'd like."

"No, I think I'll just wait until he gets home." Mr. Winner said, still smiling.

As he turned to go, the door opened again, and Rebbekha breezed into the lobby carrying a small wicker basket, making good on her threat to fix him dinner.

"Trowa, honey-baby-darling, how are you?" She asked with a grin, depositing her load on his desk before pouncing on Mr. Winner. "Fancy meeting you here, Quatre! Does Trowa work for you? It would be awful funny if he did, 'cause you can just bet he'd be wondering if you were a Talent, and here I already know you are, and we were just talking earlier today, weren't we, Trowa?"

"Please get off Mr. Winner before you suffocate him, Rebbekha."

"Tro-_wa_! I've told you a million and five times to call me Beki!" Rebbekha exclaimed, pouting as she released Mr. Winner. "Not even Mom calls me Rebbekha, unless I'm in trouble up to my cute little ears."

"Do you two know each other?" Mr. Winner asked, looking back and forth with poorly-concealed amusement.

"You just bet we do." Rebbekha said, rifling through the basket she'd brought. "I'm Trowa's upstairs neighbor, and we hang a lot. We go back years. Two years, to be exact. You get off soon, right Trowa?"

"Yes." Trowa knew better than to try and lecture or scold Rebbekha at the moment; she'd just start sulking around, which was much more annoying than her constant chatter.

"Oh, goodie! Then we can go have a moonlit picnic in the park, before it gets too warm. Would you like to join us, Quatre? There's plenty of food for four or five people, at least."

"I'm kind of looking for someone." Mr. Winner apologized. "Maybe next time, okay?"

"Okay." Rebbekha agreed, matching him smile for smile.

Trowa sat there quietly while the two blonds chatted like old friends, wondering what had possessed him to tell Rebbekha where he worked.

* * *

When Quatre finally left, having given Beki his word that he would keep his weekend free for another picnic, he was feeling positively euphoric. That girl had such wonderfully honest emotions, if a bit strong at times. She was a good balance for the new night secretary, who seemed to be as quiet emotionally as he was vocally.

The blond wandered slowly in the direct of home, wondering if maybe he should introduce Beki to Heero. It wasn't hard at all for him to imagine Heero's reaction to such a hyper, enthusiastic personality, especially in as rigid an environment as an office building.

Quatre turned the corner, humming to himself, and ran right into someone.

"I'm sorry," He apologized politely. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"A somewhat dangerous occupation in the city." The man he'd bumped into said, smiling. "A bit more caution is advisable here, Mr. Winner."

"Mr. Khushrenada, what on Earth are you doing here?" Quatre asked, smiling. "I thought you left for New York City last week!"

"I did." Mr. Khushrenada said evenly, returning Quatre's smile and handshake. "But my niece insisted we return immediately, and when it comes to Dorothy, one doesn't question when she says 'move.'"

"Has Dorothy had another vision?"

"Yes, but with only marginal detail. We now know for a fact that that son of yours is going to be involved in this, but nothing more."

"Well, every little bit is something." Quatre sighed, some of his cheer draining away. "I only wish poor Dorothy wasn't the only Foreseer we- that's it!"

"That's what, Mr. Winner?"

"Come with me; there's someone who might be able to find us another Foreseer or two, and we need to catch her before she leaves."

* * *

"All done?" Beki asked hopefully, biting absently into a chocolate chip cookie.

"All done." Trowa agreed with a sigh.

"I'm annoying you, aren't I?" She asked mournfully as Trowa packed up his things.

"Not particularly."

"Well, I did make you peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and brownies for dessert, so I hope that'll make up for it."

Trowa's replacement looked up sharply at the word 'brownies,' then blushed and tried to cover her lapse.

"Come on, Trowa," Beki urged, fishing out a brownie and leaving it for the poor secretary. "If we hurry, maybe we'll catch the moon setting, and you know you want those brownies."

It was true; Trowa's one real weakness was that he loved chocolate, and he absolutely _adored_ her brownies. He should, too, considering how hard it was to get each batch perfect, and he usually got most of them.

As soon as she reached the door, urging Trowa to move faster so they didn't miss the moonset, someone nearly bowled her over from behind. She fumbled with the basket, suppressing the urge to yelp, but managed to keep any of the food from spilling out.

"I'm sorry, Beki, I didn't mean to run right into you like that." Quatre apologized from behind her, helping her keep her balance. "Did I make you drop anything?"

"Nope; food's all safe." Beki assured him with a relieved grin. "Did you change your mind about the picnic? Who's your incredibly handsome friend?"

"This is Mr. Khushrenada, Beki, and I think we'll join you for a bit after all." Quatre said, while Mr. Khushrenada executed a flawless courtly bow.

"I would be honored to attend you on your outing, My Lady." The ginger-haired businessman said, taking her free hand and kissing the back.

"Great." Beki said with a sigh, trying her best to hide her amusement. "I'm trapped in a cheesy medieval romance flick. At least I almost dressed the part." She gathered her heavy black skirt in her hand and grinned up at Mr. Khushrenada, just in case he couldn't tell she was joking. "All right, Noble Lord; lead on."

* * *

Duo had a habit. Once a week, without fail, he stopped at the store on his way back to the House and picked up a 3-liter of soda, a package of paper cups, and a shitload of candy. It was a peace offering to whoever shared his room that week, to make up for any punches he might have thrown of a morning. It didn't harm anyone – unless they didn't brush their teeth – and it kept everyone on good terms.

After some thought, he decided on orange soda and several mixed bags of mini candy bars, and a pack of vanilla wafers for the ones who were allergic to chocolate. The whole bundle barely cost him five dollars.

* * *

"Gentlemen, your midnight snack has arrived." Duo announced cheerfully. "And anybody who gets the bright idea of shaking the soda before they open it gets the beating of a lifetime."

A few kids that hadn't been there long thought he was joking. Everyone else knew that if somebody got soda in Duo's hair again, that somebody was going to regret it.

"Mitch, Bob, got you guys some wafers." Duo continued, tossing the box in the appropriate direction. "Mikey, here're those nasty-ass gumdrops you wanted so bad. Ames, if you even _think_ of sticking your hand in that bag, I'll knock your lights out. Somebody start pouring, will ya? I can't do everything myself, you know."

Relena usually didn't allow food in the rooms, but Duo had gotten her to allow these little parties, if only to keep the peace. As long as Duo spent his own money to keep them happy, the other boys saw no need to start fights with him. It all worked pretty well.

"Oh, and Beki baked today, so there's cookies, and I managed to snag some brownies. Shall we begin the bidding at $.50?"

* * *

"Oh, we _did_ make it in time!" Beki exclaimed happily as the four of them entered the park, gazing up at the moon. It just barely touched the treetops, casting its beautiful light over the park, painting everything a pale, surreal silver. "It's so easy to see why ancient tribes worshipped the moon as a deity, especially on nights like this. You can almost believe in faeries and elves right now, couldn't you?"

Oblivious to the odd look Mr. Khushrenada shot her and the exasperated one Trowa wore, she began setting up for the picnic, spreading a tattered blanket across the grass before setting out the food.

"Let's see… ham and cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and banana sandwiches – don't look at me that way, Mr. Khushrenada, they're for Trowa – apples, cookies, brownies, chips, and a nice, big thermos of Russian tea! Come on, you guys, sit!"

"Did you make all this yourself?" Quatre asked, sitting down on the blanket.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did." Beki told him proudly. "A store-bought meal, pumped full of additives and preservatives and completely unnecessary chemicals simply won't do, if you ask me. Homemade is best, and that's that.

"Now, much as I'd like to think you're here for the joy of my company and cooking, you've obviously got something on your mind. Spill, Winner, or no brownies for you."

"Sold! To Tim and Tony for $5.79!" Duo announced, while the twins cheered and everyone else booed them. "Have you two been saving up or something?" He asked, handing them their brownie in exchange for a five dollar bill, two quarters, two dimes, and four pennies.

"Yup." One of the twins – Duo_ thought_ it was Tony, but you never could tell with these two – said with a grin. "I dunno how you found this chick, but don't ever loose her. She makes the best brownies in the city."

"As long as you guys keep buying her brownies, she'll keep making them." Duo promised, returning the grin. "Okay, you guys, you've got your sugar, so quiet down! You know how Relena feels about food in the bedrooms; don't make her revoke our partying privilege!"

"Foreseers?" Beki repeated, blinking at Quatre. "I do know a few, but…. Tony won't do you much good; he can't see more than an hour or two ahead, and only something he can affect. Amanda's Talent seems limited to weather and natural forces, but she's pretty good at that. Eric could probably help you; he's a 2, so he can get plenty with the right trigger. And I used to know this one girl, she was level 1, but I haven't seen her in more than a year." She bit into her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully, insomuch as so automatic and unconscious an act as chewing can _be_ thoughtful. "I can try and get in touch with her if you want, but I can't make any promises."

"Please try," Quatre said, smiling encouragingly. "We need all the help we can get."

"Well, me and Tro here know most of the Talents in the area, so you certainly came to the right place." Beki grinned. "We can probably find you more, if you give us a bit of time. You just leave it to us, okay?"

* * *

_Whee. Done._

_So, what do you think? Review! I shall hold the next chapter hostage until I have at least five reviews for this one!_


	6. Chapter 6

To Vwolf Youjutsu- W00t, and thank you. You're welcome. I just got a bunch of new books while thrift store-hopping. Thrift store-hopping is fun. Yes, Trowa is a farseer. Beki didn't mention him because one, Trowa was sitting right there, and two, Treize and Quatre were looking for _fore_seers. A foreseer has the ability to see the possible paths the future might take, while a farseer is a kind of organic spy cam, able to see great distances without mechanical aid.

To Nikkler- You're reviewing, you're reviewing! I love Dorothy, too. It's one of my dreams to meet her in person and dump ice down the back of her dress, then hug her 'til she can't breathe, then take her to McDonalds. Yes, that's an actual dream. I have very weird dreams. Huggles and smooches to you, too!

To Tsuchi- Unfortunately, you're number three, not number five. Fortunately, I'm not going to wait for five reviews.

* * *

"One good thing about not being famous- nobody's obsessed with you."

"Where did that come from?"

"Never watch Perfect Blue alone in the dark, with the lights off and nobody home." Beki said by way of answer, plopping down on Duo's bed with a heavy sigh. "It'll scare the living daylights out of you, and confuse you besides."

"I'll keep that in mind." Duo agreed, rolling his eyes. "So, how'd your date with Trowa go?"

"It was _not_ a date!" She exclaimed, pouting. "But that empath I met the other day came, and he brought a friend with him. Do you happen to maybe know what happened to Dorothy, that uber-strong foreseer we met all those years ago?"

"The blond chick with the freaky eyebrows that you were also _not_ dating, no matter _how_ often I caught you two sitting on the bed trying so hard to look innocent?"

"_Duo!_" This time it was definitely a shriek, and she hit him with a pillow for good measure. "_Yes_, her, and for the last time, nothing happened!"

"Yes, because your reaction is so very convincing."

"Ima murder you, boy."

* * *

"You look happy." Quatre said, smiling. "Are you that happy about this guy?"

"Trowa Barton is unbelievably well-suited to us," Heero shrugged. "He has the perfect combination of talents, good instincts, an open mind, and an intellect to be reckoned with. I'd hate to have to let him go."

"And admit it- it doesn't hurt that he'll be able to help us with our other business, either."

"That, too," Heero agreed, closing his laptop. "How does dinner out sound?"

"Don't you have work?" Quatre asked. "I mean don't get me wrong, I'd love to stuff myself silly on food I didn't cook, but not if it means cutting into your job."

"Quatre," Heero said softly, standing and pulling the blond into a fierce hug, "I love you."

"You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that." Quatre smiled, leaning against Heero's chest with a contented sigh. Sure, he could feel Heero's love, but for his stoic lover to actually say it out loud put a whole extra level of emotion on it. "I love you, too. How about we forgo dinner, and get a hotel room for the night instead?"

Heero actually laughed softly at that. "This Talent reader is a bad influence on you, isn't she?"

"Maybe,"

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Trowa heard someone tapping softly at his door.

Snippets of _the Raven_ came to him as he stood up, stretched, and walked to the door, idly wondering who else could possibly be awake this late.

It was, of course, Beki, wearing a nightgown and an oversized hoodie, and dragging a white stuffed rabbit by one ear.

"Daddy, can I sleep with you?" She asked, grinning tiredly up at him. "A big bad monster tried to scare me witless through my shields, and I'm afraid the boogieman might be hiding in my closet."

"Tried to scare you witless?" Trowa repeated, picking out the important bit.

"Uh-huh." She stepped into the room so he could close the door, wandering over and sitting down on his bed. "Projective empathy, and strong. Level 2, at least. If we hadn't built my shields the way we did, he probably would have gotten to me."

"What was it, exactly? Just fear?"

"Nope." She said, shaking her head. She blinked at him, and he noticed she wasn't wearing her glasses. "Pure, concentrated terror. Unshielded, it would have reduced me to a gibbering nervous wreck. Trowa, I don't like this."

"I don't like it, either." He said quietly, sitting down next to her as she drew the rabbit up into her lap. "Let me look at your shields."

She obediently closed her eyes, willing the shields they'd built together into the range of human visibility. They were a dark silvery purple, the color of her aura, touched around the edges with the deep, vibrant green that marked his hand in their making.

Now, there were ugly black tracks across the outer surface, glowing bright yellow in places. The shields were designed so that attacks would flow around them, like water around a river boulder, and that was all that had saved them from cracking wide open. Had they been ordinary shields, designed to absorb impact rather than divert it, they would have been useless.

"How bad is it?" She asked, easing her eyes open. "It's hard to tell from in here."

"We won't have to totally rebuild them. Do you have classes tomorrow morning?"

"Nope; I wrapped up Creative Writing, so tomorrow starts at noon."

"Good; you're going to be exhausted by the time we finish modifying these."

* * *

Beki watched with weary satisfaction as the elegant green patterns on her shields faded, becoming barely noticeable among the lazy swirls of purple and silver.

"Pretty," She commented around a yawn, flopping sideways and blinking up at Trowa. "You sure it'll work?"

"No." Trowa said, sounding just as tired as she felt. "But they should hold now, even if you can't control the energy flow. Can you make it back upstairs?" He asked.

"I can try…" She said dubiously, propping herself up on one elbow. "I'm pretty sure I can make it to your couch, though."

"Stay where you are, then; I'll take the couch for tonight."

"Y'sure? I don't wanna kick you out of your own bed."

"You need it more than me." Trowa assured her. "You worked more."

"If you say so…" She yawned hugely and curled up around her bunny, not even bothering with blankets. The mysterious attack on her shields kept her awake for all of three seconds before she dropped off to sleep.

* * *

Morning came much too soon to Trowa's mind. It seemed he'd barely gone to sleep before he was awake again, blinking against the bright midmorning sun out his window. He debated rolling over and going back to sleep, but decided against it. He didn't really need more sleep, and it would be a bad idea to skip breakfast.

He sat up, glancing towards the bed to see if Rebbekha was still there. She was, sprawled across the covers, smiling in her sleep and still hugging that stuffed rabbit, looking like nothing so much as an overgrown child.

He'd seen Rebbekha asleep on more than one occasion in the past, and each time, he'd made the same observation. She really did look like a child, never mind that her body was undeniably that of a woman grown.

Not wanting to wake her up, her went to the closet and got a spare blanket, draping it over her. The sun probably wouldn't hit her until three in the afternoon, or thereabouts, so he saw no reason to adjust the blinds. If she still needed sleep by then, he'd just take her back to her own room.

* * *

Beki yawned and stretched, feeling wonderfully rested, and smiled to herself as the last of her dream faded into obscurity. She couldn't remember what it was about, but she knew it had been a pleasant one, full of bright colors and music. Those dreams always meant something good was going to happen soon.

She shifted, reaching for her glasses on the nightstand, and hit a wall instead. She came completely awake, shaking the drowsy comfort of just-now-waking-up in an instant, and turned the other way.

The stark cleanliness of the room beyond the bed confused her for a moment, until she finally recalled what had happened the night before.

"Wow, that was scary," She said around another yawn, sitting up and stretching again.

"You look remarkably like a cat when you do that." Trowa commented, startling her into jumping.

"You scared the shit out of me, Tro," She said, pouting, and slid to the floor. "What time is it?"

"1:30,"

"Shit," Beki muttered. "I'm starving. Lemme get dressed and take me out to eat?"

To her surprise, Trowa laughed, shaking his head at her. He had a pleasant laugh, soft and gentle, and it reminded her of the music in her dream.

"Why not?"

* * *

_Yawn. All done. Please review._


	7. Chapter 7

To Vwolf Youjutsu- Meep! You scared me for a second there, shouting like that. Yeah, there's a difference between Foresight and Farsight. As a fantasy buff and a loser with no life beyond the books she reads and the fanfiction she writes, I'm close to an expert on psychic gifts like this. I'm sorry about the wait, but I told you I wasn't going to post until I got five new reviews. I caved after three; I'm a hopeless pushover. Now that you mention it, I'm hungry, too…

* * *

"Done," Beki announced, stepping out of her room and into the hallway, where Trowa waited. "Thanks for not running while you had the chance."

"I don't know of any woman who can get dressed as fast as you," Trowa commented. "You look nice,"

"Aw, Tro, you're just the sweetest!" Beki exclaimed happily. It may have only taken her five minutes to change, do her hair, and dig her shoes out of the closet, but she'd put some serious thought into the outfit. "Where're we eating?"

"Where else?" He asked, motioning for her to lead the way out, "McDonald's,"

* * *

McDonald's wasn't very crowded, as they'd just missed the lunch rush; there were only two other people in the restaurant, in fact, and Trowa worked for one of them.

"Q-chan!" Rebbekha exclaimed, jumping on the blonde. "Imagine running into you here, of all places! It must be destiny. Will you marry me?"

"I hate to break your heart, but I'm taken," Mr. Winner said.

"Q-chan, you wound me!" Rebbekha said, posing dramatically. "So, is this your main squeeze? He's cute as all get-out. _Konnichiwa; watashi wa Beki-chan desu_."

"_Doozo yoroshiku,_" Mr. Yuy answered. "_Boku wa Yuy Heero desu._"

"_Waai! Doozo yoroshiku, Heero-san! Hajimemashite? O genki desu ka?_"

"_Hai, genki desu_,"

Trowa gave up and went to order. The only Japanese word _he_ knew was 'gomenasai,' and that was only because Rebbekha used it so often. By the time he got back to the table, thankfully, they were speaking in English.

"It must be really hard work to own a company," Rebbekha said. "I have enough trouble with just one computer and no subordinates."

"Good subordinates make it easier." Mr. Yuy said with a shrug.

"Too bad you never let them handle anything important," Winner interrupted with a laugh. "The only person you trust with anything that actually matters is Lucrezia, and you don't trust her near enough."

"Aw, is poor Heero-kun paranoid?" Rebbekha asked with a laugh. "Well, as long as he's not in the nuthouse or having an affair with a cute intern, I think it's okay. Notice I said _I_ think it's okay, Heero-kun; Q-chan may feel differently. Ah, Tro, did you get my nuggets?"

"Yes," Trowa said, resisting the urge to remind her that for two years now, she'd been getting nuggets, fries, and a Dr. Pepper every single time they went to McDonald's.

"_Domo arigato, Trowa-kun,_" She said with a smile. "You're the best."

* * *

"I don't know how you managed it, but this whole engine is toast," Diana said, shaking her head. "I love you like a brother, Kyle, but you're the only man I know that can total his truck in a head-on collision with a cardboard box."

"To be perfectly honest, it wasn't so much the box I hit as the tree I careened off of trying not to run over it," Kyle explained while Diana sighed and made little dismayed sounds over his beloved truck. "And at least the cats got out okay, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, the rodent-eaters are fine," Diana said absently. "And I love the kitten, he's an adorable terror. Do you have any idea what this is going to cost you? This hunk of junk is an S-10. A '96 S-10. Those parts don't come cheap."

"Yeah, but you can get them, right?"

"Of course," Diana assured him as the phone rang. "That's probably Dorothy; this could be a while. Go get me lunch."

* * *

"- but Eric says he hasn't gotten hint one of anything big yet, so if you could rope in your foreseer, maybe they can trigger him a vision or three." Beki said cheerfully. "Oh, and there's a kid at my college, the cutest little freshman, she's got Foresight, but I don't think it's very strong; she's 3 at the very highest, but she still might be helpful. Also, I got to thinking, a dangerous occupation for me, and I thought to myself that maybe we should give my sister a call."

It seemed to Heero that Beki was one of those people who talked incessantly, hardly stopping for breath. He usually found that kind of person highly annoying, because they would babble about nothing just to be talking. Beki, however, babbled about relevant issues, although her last leap of logic was beyond him.

"Diana?" Trowa asked, sounding pained. "What use would she be?"

"Well, this mysterious person who attackeded me is using fear and intimidation," Beki explained. "And no one is as scary and intimidating as Diana. Plus, she's street-smart. She and Duo can get me safely into and out of some of the seedier neighborhoods. Adversity, I've noticed, makes for stronger Talents, especially the survival Talents like Foresight.

"Besides," She said with a sheepish grin, "it's too late to veto the idea; I already called, and she'll be here tomorrow."

"Correction," a new voice said. "I _was_ going to get here tomorrow, but Kyle's rig wasn't as banged up as I thought, so I got out a day early."

The speaker was a short woman, with blue-black hair that spilled loose over her shoulders and down her back, stick-straight to Beki's wavy. Her right eye was a deep, clear blue, while her left eye was leaf-green. Her face was pretty, but there was a stubborn set to her chin and shoulders that suggested she didn't want to hear how pretty she was.

"Heero-kun, Q-chan, meet my little sister Diana," Beki said. "Diana, Heero-kun is Trowa's boss and Q-chan is Heero-kun's boytoy, so no touchie. You remember Trowa?"

"What's up, Unabang?" Diana asked, sliding into the booth next to Trowa. "Nice to meet you two. Talents?"

"Heero-kun's a telepath, and Q-chan's an empath." Beki said. "Both level 1. Can you believe that?"

"Jesus Christ," Diana snorted. "These the freaks you called me in to help?"

"Yes, ma'am. We've got foreseers getting visions of what could be Ragnorak and a psycho projective empath trying to drive me crazy. Anything on your end?"

"Nothing much; foreseers in my neck of the woods haven't been getting anything, but one empath's down for the count, and two low-level telepaths keep picking up distress signals that fade out too fast for them to get a fix." Diana explained, shrugging. "Besides which, some of the pets have gone nuts on us, and even though it's the height of the tourist season, we aren't getting any tourists half the time. If you ask me, it's probably the sarky bastard we hit up four years ago. Remember him?"

"Ugh, how could I forget?" Beki demanded with an expressive shudder. "I say we adjourn this meeting somewhere a bit more private. Q-chan and Heero-kun probably have no idea what we're talking about, and Trowa never got more than a basic outline of events. Who lives closest?"

* * *

The group adjourned to Heero and Quatre's apartment, where they ranged themselves around the living room. Heero and Quatre took the loveseat, Trowa the armchair, Diana the couch, and Beki the floor next to the coffee table.

"Okay, who starts?" Diana asked, putting her boots on the table. It was a bad habit, but one she'd never bothered trying to break. "I know more of the details, but you were right in the thick of it."

"Me, then, since I came in before you," Beki said, closing her eyes and taking a calming breath. "Four years ago, when Diana and I both still lived with Mom, we ran into a nasty piece of work with level 2 Projective Empathy. I got into it when he started trying to build an army of Talents; a friend he converted let slip about my radar thing, and he wanted to make like Aerune and have me sniff out recruits for him."

"No literary allusions," Diana said, mostly because it annoyed her when she didn't catch one. She wasn't the kind of girl who saw looking stupid as a learning experience. "And before the problem comes up, stick to the subject,"

"Meanie," Beki pouted. "Anyway, he did then mostly what's happening now; attacking people with weak shields, scaring the heebie-jeebies out of 'em, then claiming he could protect them from whatever was scaring them. The worst part was, he could drain telepaths and empaths, using their Talent to boost himself, like they were extra battery packs or something.

"He tried his tricks on me, but he couldn't hold me for long, maybe a day at the most, and he had to be close to get me at all. He took that personally. When we finally tracked him down and confronted him, he took it even _more_ personally. And when Diana kicked his ass, he vowed revenge. Last we saw, he was headed in the other direction, fast and far as walls permitted."

Diana smiled. If nothing else, Beki had an interesting way of phrasing things.

"My turn. I first heard about this when Beki did the only smart thing she's ever done and came to me for protection."

"Hey!"

"You're an idiot. Get used to the concept. She brought me up to speed and let me loose in the Talent community around our place, where I picked up plenty of info. Our boy Dekim had been going around draining telepaths and empaths for decades, apparently. He went overseas six years ago, and came back after two years, mad as hell according to my sources. Seems someone one-upped him in the Middle East or something. He was building himself an army because his nemesis was in the States, and he wanted to get even.

"He tried for Beki and some other useful Talents in the area, but we managed to best him, mostly because of a friendly police officer with a small Talent for mind control and a shiny new gun. After the fact, we learned just what a depraved freak Dekim was; none of my touchreaders would go _near_ the things he'd handled until after most of the traces were all but faded. He did some real sick things with and to his followers while he was in power. There was a girl, seven at the time, who'll probably never feel clean again as long as she lives."

Quatre was beginning to look green around the gills, so Diana avoided further detail on that case.

"We couldn't jail him for anything, because we had no proof we didn't come by through Talent or illegal means. The cop got suspended, I got charged with aggravated assault, and Dekim rode off into the sunset on a plane. We haven't heard a peep from him since. My guess is he's back. They say revenge is a dish best eaten cold, right?"

_

* * *

_

It's done! Your chapter's finished, Diana! You can't kill me now!

_At least, you can't kill me for not writing your chapter. Most anything else is fair game, I guess. Or you could kill me for no reason at all._

_Anyway, please review._


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